Use Cases

(Jan 2001). www.usecases.org (Broken Link - try alistair.cockburn.us ) is now in operation. Also, there is a wiki to discuss Use Cases: go to www.usecases.org


See also

www.usecases.org (finally connected again! 8/30/2004)

alistair.cockburn.us (Alistair Cockburn's wiki for discussing use cases)

alistair.cockburn.us has list of online articles and presentations

www.ferg.org Stephen Ferg 2003 article. Any better critique?


...hmmm, seems like a long and interesting discussion about 2-bit use cases and user stories got lost? did they? Got written into User Story.

Actually, the "long and interesting discussion" got moved into User Story And Use Case Comparison. User Story references that discussion.


Important industry tip: Many shops for hire out there say "We have a real process: We do use cases!". They then present long documents filled with action diagrams illustrating each feature requirement as a pretty picture.

These are actually User Stories in disguise. They don't bother to follow the various CS rules for pure Use Cases; instead, they're designed for Customers to read. Don't tell anyone.

(Anyone else notice the non-sequiturs in those two paras? A)use cases aren't diagrams, B) user stories, not use cases, describe features, C) CS has no rules for use cases, D) user stories aren't diagrams either, E) use cases are designed for customers to read, F) ... (I'm sure there's an F somewhere waiting for those two paras).) What about: whether they are Use Cases or User Stories has nothing to do at all with whether the shop has a "real process"?


See original on c2.com